When Two Lovers Meet, Kate Sowers

TORI BRAND, 7

SOMETIMES, relationships don’t start out on the right foot. At Pattonville Middle School in 1987, the seventh grade classroom full of students sat under the harsh glare of fl uorescent lights. Two students, Mark and Christie, sat down in Global Studies with the rest of their classmates. They could hear commotion rising from the back of the classroom. As the teacher shouted at the students in the back, they could hear the anger and seriousness in her voice when she yelled to take a seat. Christie was sitting in a desk in front of Mark. Mark thought it would be a good idea to reach out to Christie’s desk with his feet and try to see if he could fi t his feet in the basket just beneath her seat. He put his feet in the basket, but Christie did not know it because she was listening to the teacher talking about various continents and oceans. Mark soon realized that his feet were stuck; therefore, he started pulling on his legs, trying to get his feet out but also trying not to get in trouble for distracting the class. He kept pulling and pulling and as sweat dripped down his forehead he could feel his heart pumping faster and faster every minute his feet were stuck. Finally he pulled as hard as he could and his feet fl ew out of the basket but in the process he could feel himself falling over dragging Christie down with him. As he and Christie hit the hard, cold, concrete fl oor all of their books from their desks fell on top of them and spilled all over the fl oor. Everyone’s eyes bolted toward them and they all started snickering and looking at one another. Christie looked at Mark furious. The teacher quickly walked over with anger in her eyes as she looked at Mark and then at Christie with books and papers laying all around them. Christie pushed the desk off of her legs as did Mark. They both stood up just as everyone in the class stopped laughing and they could see the teacher staring at them with a stern look on her face. They both quickly picked up their desks and placed them back in the front of the class and picked up their books and paper that had fallen on the ground. They stood back up nervously sweating wondering what would happen next. The kids in the classroom were still staring at them trying to hold their laughs in as they could see the teacher was mad. Class resumed but the teacher said that she would talk to Mark and Christie after class. Immediately after all the students left the classroom the teacher gave them after school detention. During detention, Mark and Christie started talking and realized they had more in common than they thought. After detention Mark asked Christie out and Christie said yes. Be mindful of where you put your feet, because you might get tangled up with someone for the rest of your life.